Boy of 14 is taken from his family as he balloons up to 20 STONE

The lad was taken into care when social workers became fearful for his life

A schoolboy has been taken away from his family after his weight hit 20 stone at just 14 years old.

The lad was taken into care when social workers became fearful for his life.

A Sunday Mirror investigation reveals he is one of at least five children nationwide who suffered the same fate in the past year as a watch is kept on the growing number of obese families. We have unearthed a string of shocking cases going back three years.

Joanna Nicolas, a child ­protection consultant who has been a social worker for 17 years, said: “This 14-year-old’s case is shocking but it does not surprise me. Obesity should be treated as child maltreatment just as ­malnourishment is treated as neglect. We are addressing the problem too late.”

Expert Joanna, who has worked for several local authorities, ­revealed a recent case involved a boy who missed lessons because he was too fat to climb stairs to classrooms.

Other councils that took ­children into care because of their weight were Lincolnshire and Slough.

Harrow Council in ­London took a 13-year-old boy into care after concerns were raised about his weight. Portsmouth Council admitted it had taken a child into care over weight fears. But in that case the child’s BMI was 30, only just ­tipping the youngster into the obese range.

Last year two children were taken into care by Tameside Council in Greater Manchester – a 14-year-old weighing 13st and a 4st 4lb five-year-old.

Another child was ­removed by Sunderland Council, but officials refused to provide details of their age and weight, claiming it would breach data ­protection rules. In 2010, three children in Lewisham, South-East London, were put in care, including a three-year-old who weighed four stone – three times the recommended weight at that age.

Officials also intervened in the case of a 10-year-old weighing almost 10st and a 15-year-old who was 17st.

And there was another similar case in Northumberland.

Ex-Chief Medical Officer for England Sir Liam Donaldson warned in 2006 that health care chiefs would look at removing children from families if they became super-sized. The first reported case was in 2007 and involved a girl aged eight from Cumbria who weighed 10st and wore size 16 clothes.

Latest figures from the National Child Measurement Programme show over 33 per cent of 11-year-olds and 22 per cent of primary schoolchildren, as young as four and five, are obese.

Health experts say children with high-calorie diets could die young and be more prone to cancer and diabetes.

The National Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry said: “Social services are only called in when neighbours and health visitors raise the alarm. There is not enough ­monitoring of children’s weight. In cases where children go into care, the problem lies with the parents who see them getting bigger but don’t seem to care.

“The cost of living is going up and it is not vegetables that are cheap but fast food.”

TV personality Vanessa Feltz, who has battled weight problems, said: “People who over-feed their children are misguided, ­mistaken and badly need help.

“Providing a quick-fix mix of therapy, counselling and ­education can help get fat ­families fit together.”